The 20th Shear Madness costuming challenge was all about GOLD! We received a huge variety of fabulous entries for that challenge and we are so excited to see what you folks have in store for our next group costuming challenge:
Challenge #21 “ARMS and ARMOR”
This challenge is for all costumers of all levels and all genres!
This challenge focuses on custom-made armor, armor-inspired designs, and/or prop weapons. Shear Madness is all about the joy of Impractical Costuming, creativity, and unusual materials put together with clever skill! OC, LARP, Anime, Historical, Storm Troopers, and more are welcome!
The submission deadline is JULY 1st, 2019 at midnight CST.
The Rules
1. Any costume, accessory, or prop completed between April 1st, 2018 (last year) and the deadline of July 1st, 2019 qualifies!
When you began your submission doesn’t matter as long as it was FINISHED within the time period of 4/1/2018 – 7/1/2019.
The submissions window is open beginning April 1st, 2019 and closes on July 1st, 2019 at midnight CST.
2. Qualifying entries should be armor, prop weapons or feature a design element that takes inspiration from armor/weapons. Some examples of what might qualify include: craft foam pauldrons, a Steampunk laser rifle, Mandalorian helmets, a bustle dress made of dagger-print fabric, a tower shield made for LARP, scale-mail gauntlets, etc.
3. This challenge is for complete costumes OR accessories/props for humans of all ages, genders, and sizes. Props must be presented with context, preferably with the costume they are intended to be worn with, but a written description/sketch can suffice if the rest of the outfit is incomplete. Jewelry presented without an accompanying costume and costumes for pets, dolls, etc. don’t qualify for this challenge, but may in a future challenge.
4. 75% of the piece must be made or modified by you. 25% of your entry can be unaltered/purchased items. For example, if you purchased a foam sword to accompany your costume, it counts towards the 25%. However, if you carved it into the shape of a thunderbolt for your Storm Knight cosplay, it counts towards the 75%.
5. We want to see your creativity and hard work on display, not someone else’s! You may only submit work you created yourself, not costumes you commissioned or purchased elsewhere. Recreations of fashion plates, paintings, digital artwork, etc. are perfectly fine, but if you do reinterpret or take inspiration from someone else’s previous design, please give proper credit to them in your submission description. If you are portraying a character, please include the character’s name and the title of the show/book/artwork in which they appear! Collaborations are allowed as long as all parties consent to it being entered and everyone’s given fair credit.
— You are not required to enter a challenge to join the Facebook Group, but it is encouraged!—
How to Submit Your Challenge Entry
Challenge entries must be submitted to:
shearmadnesscostumes@gmail.com
before midnight CST on July 1st, 2018!
—-> Submissions must include Your NAME, a TITLE for your entry, up to 5 PICTURES, and a DESCRIPTION.
TITLE: Every work of art needs a good title! For example “1830s Cinderella” or “Red Wedding Guest” or “Alucard” or “Dolly Parton Goes To Ren Fair” etc.
PHOTOS: Photos are VERY IMPORTANT and can make or break an entry! Outfits can be displayed on mannequins or dress forms, but photos of it being worn by a human are preferred! If you need some guidance for taking photos, click here for a few basic photo tips. Make sure you have at least one straight-on front shot so all the details can be seen! Include close-ups of specific details you are proud of like embellishment, process photos, alternate angles, etc. LIMIT OF 5 PHOTOS PER ENTRY, PLEASE!
DESCRIPTION: Along with your photos, include a description of your piece. Include when the item was made, and tell us about what makes your entry special! Did you try any new techniques? Is it made for particular person/persona? Have you worn it to any events? If you ran into any problems you had to tackle, tell us how you solved them. Judges greatly appreciate construction details! Winning entries will have excerpts from their submission descriptions published on the blog.
—> Be sure to give credit to any artists if you chose to reinterpret their artwork!
If you can, please include a photo of the artwork and/or a link to the original source. The inspiration/reference image does not count towards your 5 photo limit.
HAVE FUN! This is not something we want you to agonize over. This is to be a fun and inspiring challenge for you as a costumer to help you grow and express yourself. And if the entire thing doesn’t get finished? Oh well! Share or submit what you have!
Limit of two (2) entries per person per challenge. Previous winning costume entries cannot be re-submitted.
NOTE!
Costumes posted to Facebook will not be counted as part of the challenge—they must be submitted via email (shearmadnesscostumes@gmail.com) to qualify. Contestants can share the progress of their outfits on their blogs or on the Shear Madness Facebook page. However, please do not post entries in their final state on the Facebook page until after judging is complete.
Judging and Awards
The judges will review the entries and the winners will be announced 7-10 days after the challenge closes on July 1st, 2019. There will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd winners, as well as honorable mentions as chosen by the judges. Winners will be given a Shear Madness logo with their winning placement for display on their blog/website, a customized digital photo of their entry “stamped” with their placement that can be uploaded to sites like Instagram or Facebook, and will have their creations featured in the header on the Facebook group page! All submissions will have a photo featured on the Challenge’s final blog post.
Group administrators and moderators have the final say on any rules for challenges and may update them as needed.
Shear Madness! 
